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But you pushed her away.
Rage surged inside me, pushing aside the sadness. Who would do this to such a beautiful woman? Who would take a life so precious and break it? This wasn’t just a home invasion. She was strapped to a chair and tortured. But what for what? She was a nobody.
But you didn’t keep tabs on her. You have no idea what her life has been like since you left.
This was all my fault. I could have saved her. If only I had watched out for her. If only I had refused to live my life along the path Rafe laid out for us. I might have changed my mind sooner.
Something shifted in the air and the silence suddenly became clouded with something else, something dangerous. I stiffened, ready to pull my gun, when I heard his voice.
“Stop digging.”
I didn’t turn but glanced over my shoulder, spotting Cash in the corner of the kitchen leaning against the counter. “Into what?”
“You know what. She’s dead because of it.”
His voice was cold and hard, nothing like the man I met for the first time when he was on the run with Eva. If anything, he was more like his brother than I ever thought possible. I slowly stood and turned to face him. Dressed all in black, he was the spitting image of Rafe. For just a moment, I had a flashback to when Rafe stood before me for the first time, warning me that this job was dangerous and would most likely kill anyone I loved.
At the time, I hadn’t thought anything of it. I didn’t have loved ones, so that wasn’t a problem. And since I walked away from Leah, I assumed she was safe. Apparently, I was wrong.
“Why?” I asked. I didn’t need to explain what I was talking about. He already knew.
“Because she’s connected to you. To OPS. It’s a message.”
“To who? Fuck, Cash?—”
He shoved away from the counter and stormed toward me, his eyes black as night as he glowered at me. “He fucking told you not to make friends. If you planned on keeping her safe, you should have kept her at OPS. It’s too late for that now.”
“Who did this?” I snapped, ready to take my revenge.
“It doesn’t fucking matter.”
I lunged for him, not interested in whatever game he was playing. “It fucking matters to me!” I shouted, slamming him up against the fridge. “You really expect me to walk away?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I expect you to do. Walk away, Jason. This isn’t a fight you can win.”
“Is that what you told everyone at OPS when you ran off? Is that what you told your wife?”
He slammed his boot into my leg, but I partially blocked him, leaving myself open for the hit to the kidneys that followed. I gritted my teeth as he slammed his fist into me a few more times before getting in a cheap shot to the jaw.
“Does that feel good?” I hissed. “Do you feel better hitting your own guys?”
He scoffed, shaking his head at me. “You’re not my guy anymore. We’re nothing.”
“Then why the fuck are you here?” I shouted. “If I’m nothing to you, then why did you come after her?”
“Because she’s innocent!” he yelled. “Fucking innocent just like everyone else.”
“Cash,” a low voice behind me hissed.
I spun around, surprised when I saw another man step out of the shadows. Knight. But it wasn’t him that surprised me. It was what he was holding.
Or rather, who.
I stared into the eyes of the little girl on his hip and my breath caught in my chest. She had my complexion and the same fucking black hair. Thick eyebrows and long lashes framed her eyes. There was no denying she was mine. But her eyes…
Fuck, it killed me to look at her eyes—bright blue and so like Leah’s.
Tears welled in my eyes as I studied the little girl in his arms. She looked to be about four years old…maybe a little older. Including a pregnancy, the timing matched. There was no mistaking who this little girl belonged to.